My Disguise
by SketchingTheFinn
Summary: Zack is sent to live with his aunt after a drug incident. Over the course of 2 years, the twins have come to hate each other. What happens when Zack returns home?
1. He's Back

**Author's Note**: Miss Finn here.I couldn't think of anything to post for _Thinner_, but I had a cool idea so I decided to enlist the help of Mr. Sketchy Ghost to do another co-writing gag.(CRIMS0N HAZE, if you're still interested, that co-writing spot's always open for you too).Anyway, Mr. Ghost and I, after becoming more than acquaintances, have been getting into the most ridiculous and stupid arguments this world has ever seen.Which led to the creation of this story.

Ok, you don't get it.Hmm… how to explain.Ok, so _I'm _doing Cody's POV and trying to prove Cody's point.Mr. Sketchy's doing _Zack's _POV and trying to prove _his _point.Who decides who's better?You guys do, lovely reviewers, so review.

Cody's POV

Mrs. Bolter just sent me to the principal's office for "inappropriate behavior."Big deal.It's not like I care, anyway.

I bet you guys are all surprised and shocked.The Cody Martin you used to know would _die _if this happened to him.I guess I've changed.Actually, I _know _I've changed.A lot.You don't need to tell me.

It's all Zack's stupid fault.

Yeah, you guys are still surprised, right?I mean, I used to never blame Zack for anything.I was the responsible twin—the good one.I watched out for Zack—he protected me.Boy, that's changed a lot.

I haven't seen Zack for two years.Two years.I don't miss him though.

I don't think I even like him anymore.In fact, I hate him.I hate Zack.I hate him more than anybody in this world.

The story?Well, as long as I'm walking to the principal's office, I might as well tell the story.I mean, I don't have anything else to do, do I?

Two years ago—we were fourteen, which means we're sixteen now, for those of you who can't add.We were freshmen—new to the high school, new to everything.

I was the dork.I studied like crazy, brought home good grades, and was regarded as a social outcast.At least I was strong.

Zack.Zack was the rebel.He got wound up in all the bad stuff, got a girlfriend the first week of high school, got invited to all those parties.

One of the parties had drugs.

Zack ended up with marijuana.And well, you know the story.The neighbors called, police came.

Zack got taken to jail, but Mom begged them to let him out.They did, since he was a minor and everything, and too young and inexperienced to go to juvie.Mom was mad.

She sent Zack to go live with her sister, otherwise known as Aunt Mary, who she had made up with—see, Mary never really liked Mom.Aunt Mary lives in Oregon.She thought maybe it would reform Zack some if she sent him far away to a small community state like that.

I bawled when he left.I honestly did.I couldn't help it.I mean, they were taking my twin away, my other half away.I loved Zack more than anyone back then.I loved Zack because he was my twin, my older brother, my hero, my other half, my protector, and well, you get the idea.

I didn't know how different we were back then.I mean, I could _feel _it, I guess.Zack was my twin so we had this weird twin connection thing.

He was hurting when he went to Oregon, facing a breaking point.I wanted to help, but Mom made up her mind, and when Mom decides something, it's hard to stop her.

So a week after he'd left, I sat down and wrote Zack a letter.I wrote down everything: about how much I missed him, how much I loved him, how sorry I was that I couldn't have done anything, even about how I cried at night because I didn't feel complete without him.I put my _soul _into that letter—told him how much I hurt and loved him and hoped he missed me too, and then mailed it off to Zack.

You know what happened?I got a letter a week after that.It was from Zack.

I was so excited I locked myself up in my room and ripped open that letter and read it like crazy.And then I started to cry.

What did he write in that letter?All he wrote was about how much he _hated _me and how he wished I would drop dead.How if I had really loved him, I could have made Mom not send him to go live in Oregon.How if I had really been strong, I would have pulled him out of this whole druggie thing before it was too late.How much he wanted me to die and how he'd kill me if he had the chance.

I cried for about two weeks.By the end of those two weeks, however, I'd decided I wasn't going to cry about Zack anymore.I was going to forget about him.

But who was I kidding?I couldn't do that.I still have that letter, tucked away in my desk, because it's something I have left to hold onto Zack.I read that stupid letter every single night and know every word he wrote in there by heart and cry my heart out because I miss my brother.I miss him.

I miss him almost as much as I hate him.

But I hate him more.

Now, why I've become a complete rebel.There wasn't any point in studying hard.There wasn't any point in working to the fullest.Why?

Because Zack wasn't there to need help.Zack wasn't there to be better then.

So I guess I just sort of stopped.Stopped working hard, stopped trying hard.I fell behind in everything—got kicked out of Advanced Placement, then kicked out of Honors Classes, and moved all the way down to the Lowest Classes.They're even thinking of putting me in the Learning Disability class, but they say that I'm smart enough—I just don't try hard.

My looks have changed too.I hit my growth spurt, and so I'm pretty tall and lanky now.I dyed my hair black and it's in a side bang thing, and got a lip ring and two earrings (in the same ear).I only wear black now, but if somebody calls me emo, I'll punch them.I sent two kids to the hospital already—I'm not afraid to send another.

And I don't care.I don't care anymore, because I hate this world.I hate this world we live in, I hate my life.

I've been driving Mom crazy, but I don't care, because I hate her too.She was the one who shipped Zack off.It's her fault that my twin hates me.It's her fault I'm like this.

I hate everybody now.I still live in the Tipton, by the way, but the extra bed in the room is something I want to kill and rip up.I hate London.I hate Maddie.I hate Mr. Moseby.

The only reason I'm still here is because I need to keep hating.I need to win this fight.I need to laugh at Zack and punch his soul out.

It would be easy, except Zack's on the other half of this country, and that I know that way down deep I still miss and love my brother, and hope that he'll come back.

Yeah, ok.That's enough of that.I'm here now.

I go in, and the principal doesn't look too surprised to see me."Oh, it's you, Cody."

I glance over, and my mom's in the room too.Mrs. Bolter called her and asked her to go to the office.

Mom looks furious.Her face is all creased with lines of anger—she looks like she wants to murder me.Her face is all red, and her eyes have this evil glare in them.

Anyway, I sort of zone out.Principal Shaway talks to me in this low voice, and I don't listen to him.He can tell, too, so he sort of sighs and suspends me from school for two days.Because I've been sent to him every day of this week so far.

I follow Mom out of the office and into her car where she yells at me for like half an hour until we get back to the Tipton.I don't listen to her, and it makes her even madder.So she grounds me for a month.Big deal.It's not like I care—she can't make me listen.

Before I go in the elevator though, she yells at me to be nice to the visitors that are coming because they've come a long way and miss me.Yeah, like _that's _going to happen.

Anyway, we get to our suite, and I go in.That's when my stomach starts turning over, because it's Aunt Mary.I look over at this figure who's hair is dyed jet black just like me who's sitting hunched over in a chair and my mom's trying to talk to.The kid looks up, and he looks just like me.

He glances at me, and his eyes are full of hate."Cody."

My voice sort of clogs in my throat."Zack."

He's back.

**Author's Note**: I bet both of us are pretty good, huh?Oh well.Sort of a lame first chapter, Miss Finn, you may say, and it was.I guess that's the best I can do though… so yeah.

Review please.Mr. Sketchy and I would like to hear from you. Mr. Sketchy does the next chapter. (Miss CRIMS0N HAZE, I'd love to hear from you--just send me a message).

-Miss Finn


	2. Look Where I Am Now

**Author's Note: **Sketchy here! Well, Finn shoved this idea in my face a day or two ago and I liked it. Nuff said. The story is here, voila! As she said, I will be trying to prove Zack's point using his POV. On with the update!

**Disclaimer: **We don't own TSL or any of the characters, except for Mrs. Bolter, Mr. Shaway and Aunt Mary. Finn owns them more than me though, hehe.

Zack's POV+

Uggh. This is the absolute last place I want to be.

Guess where. Give up?

I'm home.

No one understands that I'm better. I admit that I was into drugs. But I stopped! Everything is back to normal now!

Well, that's a lie. Nothing is normal now.

Aunt Mary says that she's going to stay here at the hotel with Mom for the night and then she'll finally let me stay at home.

Okay, so I lied twice. I'm happy to be home, I really am.

But I'm not happy to see him.

Cody. He used to be my brother. I don't consider him that anymore.

It's all his fault. He could've stopped me from going to that party.

He didn't.

He could've taken all those drugs from me.

He didn't.

He could've made Mom just send me to rehab instead of shipping me off to Mary for two years.

He didn't.

He sent me a letter. It said he "cried at night" and that he "missed me more than anything" and that he "wanted to talk to me" and that he "didn't feel safe." I read that letter and my blood boiled.

So I wrote back, and he deserved every nasty word I wrote on that paper. This one part I remember writing clearly:

_You never cared. Never. You could have stopped all this from happening. But you didn't. You just stood there and watched like you always did, and now look where I am. I hate you. I just wish you'd disappear and leave me alone. Drop dead._

I reread that snippet and grinned. That would send him crumpling to the floor. I sealed that envelope and shipped it off without a single regret.

Now I'm sitting back on the couch I've missed for so long. I'm seeing my mother again. I brush my hair, which used to be blond, out of my face and my eyes rest on one thing.

Him.

He glares at me. "What are you doing here?" Mom looks like she's about to punch him, and that comment got an even harsher glare.

"What happened to missing your brother?" I sneer. I look away.

"Great," I hear Cody say. "And I thought my life could get no worse." He stomps off to his – no, _our _room. I should change that.

"Mom," I say sweetly, "I'm home." Cheesy lines and fake happiness like that are two things I've mastered in my time away from Boston. I stand up and hug her, snickering into her shirt as she takes her icy glare away from Cody's door and looks down at me.

"I love you, sweetie," she says. Fake tears, that's another thing I'm good at now. I well some up and boom, tears of joy.

"I love you too. Say Mom," I change the subject abruptly, "I've come to enjoy my privacy in Oregon. Is there a chance I could have my own room?"

"SAY YES," Cody yells from behind his door, and I know he's been listening. That jerk.

"Well, Zack, I don't know if there's really any room," Mom says. Ah, now time for the secret weapon. Even at seventeen I can pull this one off.

I flash the adorable pair of puppy dog eyes that Cody and I always used to have. Cody's eyes seem too washed with hate to still have them, but I kept the attribute – I always used it to get things from Mary.

I can tell she's wavering, but she says, "Zack, I'm sorry. We just can't put you anywhere, and Moseby will never give us a bigger suite."

I look down in harsh disappointment. Brilliant, I'll be living with _him_ again. I hear a fairly hearty bang from our room and I can tell he doesn't like it either.

"Excuse me," Mom says, the glare returning to her eyes as she starts toward the room.

I look around. Everything is so familiar, it's as if I never left.

I find a picture standing on the bookcase. It's of Cody and me when we were twelve. We both look happy – we're laughing, and my arm is draped lazily over his shoulder. It looks like we're up by the cabana at the pool.

It's disgusting.

To think I actually thought of him as my best friend. I don't even know him anymore.

Mary's looking away. I snatch the picture from the bookcase and conceal it in my jacket, thinking of just how I'll destroy it. This'll be fun.

Cody and Mom are starting to raise their voices in our room. Suddenly the door slams and Cody runs out of the suite. He looks pretty flustered, like he's crying.

Mom doesn't look so angry anymore – still kind of angry, but not really. She looks really worried, though, and she's about to go after him.

"Mom, I'll talk to him," I say, faking sincerity as best as I can.

She looks like she's about to object, but finally she nods. She must still think I'm the only one who can calm Cody down.

Oh, this'll be fun.

XxX 

Let's see… I've checked the game room, the pool area, and the restaurant – I can't think of where he might be. Right now I'm just lounging on a couch in the lobby.

"Welcome back, Zack!" Mr. Moseby says, suddenly hovering over me. "The Tipton is excited that you are back home!" I can tell he isn't serious. He actually looks pretty skeptical – the whole drug thing has probably gotten him pretty worried about having me in his precious hotel.

"Thank you, Mr. Moseby," I say nicely. "It's great to finally be here again."

He nods feverishly and walks away rather hurriedly. I chuckle.

"Can I just have my stupid Twizzlers?" an angry voice rings through. I look to my right. Cody's at the candy counter. Hey, Maddie isn't there anymore. Looks like some overly perky teenager. Apparently she's afraid of Cody and his new emo look.

She practically throws the candy at him, ignoring the fact that he didn't pay. He walks angrily back to the elevator, and I'm following silently. I slip in just after he does.

"What's your problem?" I ask, seeing the tears in his eyes. He turns to glare at me.

"You are."

"Hey, I didn't do anything to you. You ruined my life." I can't see how he can pin this all on me all of a sudden.

"I'm just gonna forget you exist," he says icily, "seeing as you've already forgotten about me." The elevator dings before I can respond. Dang it, I had a pretty good comeback planned.

He stomps off to somewhere on the twentieth floor. Probably the gym to throw basketballs at the wall. He always did that when he was angry, at least when we were fourteen.

I glare after him. What a jerk. I can't believe he's angry with me after all he did to me. He never did anything for me. Don't you see why I hate him so much? He always swore he loved me. He always swore he was my best friend.

He didn't mean a word of it.

**Review, please!**


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